The Serpent (3) (Time of Heroes)

Rating: 3 generous stars of five

The Publisher Says: Jon of Dun Add has created a civilization where before there had only been isolated pockets of humanity in a shattered cosmos.

Young knight Pal is one of the most respected members of Lord Jon’s Hall of Champions. But Pal’s greatest talent lies not on the field of battle, though he’s no slouch there. He is also a Maker, one who can repair the tools the Ancients had left—sometimes. Moreover, he has learned to use his warrior dog’s ability to predict motion better than any human could, an ability that has saved his skin and won the day more than once.

Now, Pal will need all his talent—as a fighter, as a Maker, and as a Champion—to deal with the monsters the Waste throws at show more him—and to deal with his fellow humans. For there are those who would destroy Dun Add and Lord Jon’s vision of a humanity united in peace from within . . .

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I screwed up. I got book three in a series I had never heard of before because I recognized the author’s name...what SFF reader wouldn’t...and, once I clocked my eff-up, I thought I’d just go back and get the others. That has never happened in three years, in spite of his December 2023 demise, because I just did not like this Arthurian retelling all that much. The writing is ordinary David Drakery. The typos were plentiful, and they irked me a lot.

It really just, as a story, goes nowhere much, which is actually quite a feat when retelling a millennium-old story; it has action that is not tied to anything like a plot; and, in under two hundred pages, there is more flashback to the first two books than there is present action. So it is not something I recommend to you.
Still, not everyone thinks like me, so a Kindle edition is only $6.99...but seriously, buy something from an unknown instead. show less